Most beer reviews are of freebies. At least I admit it.
The nice people at Hangar 24 sent me some beer a few months ago, but you know what John Lennon said…neglecting your blog is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.
In the meantime, I’d started hearing some buzz about these SoCal folks. It’s California, so people seem into their Double IPA. A friend who doesn’t usually go in for such things praised the Orange Wheat by saying something like “it’s much better than it has any right to be.” (From him, this is a compliment). I’ve had my eye out for the Chocolate Porter in stores, because a good-value bomber of tasty porter is never a bad thing.
My favorite of the Hangar 24 line-up, however, may differ from most people’s. I really dug the Alt-Bier. I thought I’d be alone in this, but I’ve since seen Hangar 24 Alt at places like City Beer Store and Hog’s Apothecary, so I can’t be the only one feeling it.
Ein altbier, bitte!
My altbier bias (ie everything tastes better when you’re 25 and in a foreign country)
I have just enough German beer cred to be dangerous, as I can play the “I used to live in Germany” card. To be specific, I lived in Germany for 18 months, and haven’t been back since I left in 2002, so it’s not much of a card. I did, in my home base of Hamburg, drink an incredible amount of Diebels Alt. It was available at average supermarkets — including Germany’s Big Lots/FoodMaxx equivalent called Penny Markt — for something stupid and wonderful like 50 cents. It wasn’t the best beer I drank in Germany, but it was probably my favorite everyday cheap beer, an often overlooked category. It is now (or maybe even was then) made by InBev and has terrible online reviews (I suspect there was no such thing as an online beer review site when I was drinking it). I don’t know whether this beer I dug so much is poorly rated because it’s gone downhill, my palate sucked in 2001, it doesn’t ship well, no one understands altbier, or some/all of the above.
I’ve never seen Diebels Alt in the US and I wouldn’t buy it if I did. German beer handled by large distributors does not tend to ship well, and I try to avoid giving my money to InBev anyway. But I’ve been needing an alt fix! Alaskan Amber is actually supposed to be an alt (a northern German alt, not a Dusseldorf alt, if you give a shit) but it’s a little sweet for the style.
Hanger 24’s take on alt
The Hangar 24 folks are working off the Brewers’ Association definition of the style. It says:
Copper to dark brown in color. A variety of malts, including wheat, may be used.to produce a medium-low to medium level malty flavor and aroma. Hop bitterness may be medium to very high (although the 25 to 35 IBU range is more normal for the majority of Altbiers from Düsseldorf). Hop flavor and aroma may be low to medium. It has a medium body. The overall impression is clean, crisp, and flavorful often with a dry finish. Fruity esters can be low. No diacetyl or chill haze should be perceived. Original Gravity (oPlato) 1.044-1.052 (11-13 oPlato) ● Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (oPlato) 1.008-1.014 (2-3.5 oPlato) ● Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.6-4.4% (4.3-5.5%) ● Bitterness (IBU) 25-52 ● Color SRM (EBC) 11-19 (22-38 EBC)
Hangar 24 says they kept it traditional except for adding a little chocolate malt. Trust me, it’s not too much. This ain’t a stout.
I’m gonna say if you like brown ale, dark lager, ambers, reds, or anything with a bit of flavor but not enough extremes to knock your teeth out, albier is a style you should know better and Hangar 24’s version is a good place to start until more breweries start focusing more on continental styles. (Iron Springs makes an alt too, but you already know how much I like them)
Now somebody make me a good local maibock.
